Where do you get your meat?

[Edonidd]

I think like most everyone else in the country, at least everyone in middle america, I have always bought pretty much everything I eat at the grocery store. Including all of my meat from the meat counter, or just the meat refrigerated section. It's just easiest. But recently I bought "special" steaks for a couple special occasions and everyone has started noticing what a big difference it makes. Steaks and roasts from a butchers shop just fill all of us up faster with less meat. We just started really testing it out and noticed the same with chicken. And with the brats and sausage the difference is extreme. So is the taste. And for the most part the price is in the same balloark, sometimes even less than grocery stores.

At my local grocery store I do get a good selection, quite a bit better than any of the butcher shops, and probably better than all of the ones I know of combined. But I can also get prime beef at one shop (sometimes) another one sells dry aged steaks and a third one does all local hormone free free range grass fed beef. Plus the brats are literally 10000000x better than Johnsonville, cost about the same, and one brat fills me up more than 2 johnsonvilles.

Anyone else notice the difference? Maybe all of you have always known?

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

We live near a couple of butchers, but here they are way more expensive than the grocer's. We only go there for special occasions, maybe twice a year. Yes, the cuts are better, no question.

We used to go into Pennsylvania to a private farm to get our pork and beef. We'd buy shares of a side with several other families and store it in our basement freezer. It was a hassle to arrange for the pickup - we had to rent a u-haul - but worth every penny. Real good grass-fed stuff, no hormones or antibiotics. The pork was exponentially better than the grocery store variety.

But that farm went out of business due to local fracking; their water supply was getting poisoned and they were losing lots of their animals due to sickness and stillbirths. They sold out (to the fracking company, eventually) and moved away.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I think like most everyone else in the country, at least everyone in middle america, I have always bought pretty much everything I eat at the grocery store. Including all of my meat from the meat counter, or just the meat refrigerated section. It's just easiest. But recently I bought "special" steaks for a couple special occasions and everyone has started noticing what a big difference it makes. Steaks and roasts from a butchers shop just fill all of us up faster with less meat. We just started really testing it out and noticed the same with chicken. And with the brats and sausage the difference is extreme. So is the taste. And for the most part the price is in the same balloark, sometimes even less than grocery stores.

At my local grocery store I do get a good selection, quite a bit better than any of the butcher shops, and probably better than all of the ones I know of combined. But I can also get prime beef at one shop (sometimes) another one sells dry aged steaks and a third one does all local hormone free free range grass fed beef. Plus the brats are literally 10000000x better than Johnsonville, cost about the same, and one brat fills me up more than 2 johnsonvilles.

Anyone else notice the difference? Maybe all of you have always known?

Trying to cut back on red meat in general, but I'm still a steak lover so when I do it, I do it right...butcher cut ribeyes only....far better quality meat...I pay about $17 per lb for the prime cut ribeye...$19 for dry aged...that's a little more than the best supermarket steaks but sooooo much better and tender...my wife likes well done (me med well) and it's hard to do without drying them out, but not with these babies...take them off about 80% done and they finish cooking on their own and she's always impressed.

Mothers Day Meal I whipped up with these ribeyes.

 

[night]

I think like most everyone else in the country, at least everyone in middle america, I have always bought pretty much everything I eat at the grocery store. Including all of my meat from the meat counter, or just the meat refrigerated section. It's just easiest. But recently I bought "special" steaks for a couple special occasions and everyone has started noticing what a big difference it makes. Steaks and roasts from a butchers shop just fill all of us up faster with less meat. We just started really testing it out and noticed the same with chicken. And with the brats and sausage the difference is extreme. So is the taste. And for the most part the price is in the same balloark, sometimes even less than grocery stores.

At my local grocery store I do get a good selection, quite a bit better than any of the butcher shops, and probably better than all of the ones I know of combined. But I can also get prime beef at one shop (sometimes) another one sells dry aged steaks and a third one does all local hormone free free range grass fed beef. Plus the brats are literally 10000000x better than Johnsonville, cost about the same, and one brat fills me up more than 2 johnsonvilles.

Anyone else notice the difference? Maybe all of you have always known?

It is definitely hard to beat the variety of the grocery store. I've found that if you call ahead to a butcher shop they can accommodate most requests though.

Steaks - The butcher shop is higher quality and the price is usually either equal or cheaper than the grocery stores here (I'm comparing their top end products because the other stuff is comparing apples and oranges).
Brats - Much larger and better quality but the price is definitely a lot higher from the butcher. I can buy a dozen for $5 at the grocery store (same size and quality as Johnsonville but a different brand).
Chicken - I'd say it depends on how anally retentive you are about the bird being fed natural food, being free range, etc. It is usually higher price but depending what you value it can be worth it to get it from the butcher. Pork - I'm not too picky here and tend to favor the grocery store except when it comes to ribs.
Lunch meat - I think the prices are comparable and I tend to favor the butcher here.

For vegetables now that it's getting warmer I like to check out farmer's markets. They tend to have pretty low prices and great quality.

Has anybody ever tried a food co-op before? I've been thinking about trying one of these in the fall for vegetables and eggs. Tampa, FL - Farmers Markets / Family Farms / CSA / Organic Food / Pick your Own

 

[ATL96Steeler]

It is definitely hard to beat the variety of the grocery store. I've found that if you call ahead to a butcher shop they can accommodate most requests though.

Steaks - The butcher shop is higher quality and the price is usually either equal or cheaper than the grocery stores here (I'm comparing their top end products because the other stuff is comparing apples and oranges).
Brats - Much larger and better quality but the price is definitely a lot higher from the butcher. I can buy a dozen for $5 at the grocery store (same size and quality as Johnsonville but a different brand).
Chicken - I'd say it depends on how anally retentive you are about the bird being fed natural food, being free range, etc. It is usually higher price but depending what you value it can be worth it to get it from the butcher. Pork - I'm not too picky here and tend to favor the grocery store except when it comes to ribs.
Lunch meat - I think the prices are comparable and I tend to favor the butcher here.

For vegetables now that it's getting warmer I like to check out farmer's markets. They tend to have pretty low prices and great quality.

Has anybody ever tried a food co-op before? I've been thinking about trying one of these in the fall for vegetables and eggs. Tampa, FL - Farmers Markets / Family Farms / CSA / Organic Food / Pick your Own

Veggies...we have a little hole in the wall fresh market store a few blocks from the house actually...they say they get direct from the farm deliveries once a week in season...I've bought whole carrots, potatoes...never tried a co-op.

 

[Gooch1034]

I get most of my meat from Buckhead Beef out of Atlanta. I get it cheap by buying it at a bulk rate because I buy it from a chef/owner friend of mine who has a steakhouse. I pay what he pays so I am pretty lucky when buying by the case. I also buy from a local butcher if I don't need much of a certain cut of meat.

Oddly, Sam's Club has been selling Prime graded beef that is as good as any but you could get it cheaper asking a local restaurant that serves Prime beef if you could order through them because they typically wont try to make money off of you and you can buy it at the bulk rate.

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

I tend to be very picky about the meat I buy. There are quite a few places by me that have good meat(depending on the day and cut).
There's an "upscale" supermarket by me that has some nice stuff. They even had beautiful super fresh pigs feet the other day I was tempted to buy and use somehow, but didn't.
We have an Asian supermarket that is a good second choice who also at times has great stuff at great prices, but you have to be picky about what you choose.

As far as butchers go, we have a couple Kosher butchers here in town. I always thought Kosher meant one thing, but apparently it just really means twice the damn price... One is part of a small Kosher market and they have some beautiful meat, but the prices are quite high. The other Kosher butcher is even more expensive(probably because of the rent where his shop stands)... Last I was there, ribeyes were 32 per pound, that was about 5 years ago. Can't even imagine what it is now, at least that, if not more!!!

 

[romeo212000]

I tend to be very picky about the meat I buy. There are quite a few places by me that have good meat(depending on the day and cut).
There's an "upscale" supermarket by me that has some nice stuff. They even had beautiful super fresh pigs feet the other day I was tempted to buy and use somehow, but didn't.
We have an Asian supermarket that is a good second choice who also at times has great stuff at great prices, but you have to be picky about what you choose.

As far as butchers go, we have a couple Kosher butchers here in town. I always thought Kosher meant one thing, but apparently it just really means twice the damn price... One is part of a small Kosher market and they have some beautiful meat, but the prices are quite high. The other Kosher butcher is even more expensive(probably because of the rent where his shop stands)... Last I was there, ribeyes were 32 per pound, that was about 5 years ago. Can't even imagine what it is now, at least that, if not more!!!

God damn. There's some nice butchers here where I can get my rib eyes for like $17 per pound and those are some damn fine ribeyes.

 

[Edonidd]

God damn. There's some nice butchers here where I can get my rib eyes for like $17 per pound and those are some damn fine ribeyes.

Yeah, for mothers day I went there which was kind of the impetus to start this thread. My parents just came back from wintering in Florida since Thanksgiving, and while down there she doesn't eat much or any red meat. My dad doesn't eat red meat at all, and gives her crap about it if she eats any. So she wanted steak for mothers day, and her favorite cut of steak is NY Strip. Went to Butcher shop and they had prime Strips for $16.99 per pound. Right next to that they had what they called Delmonico (every place calls something different Delmonico for some reason) but it was just the center cut of the ribeye, the Super tender little triangle in the middle of your ribeye. They tied 2 of those together with butchers twine so it was like a full size steak but made from just the center cut. Those were only $17.99 so literally a dollar more.

 

[006]

Every year I buy a half hog and have it butchered loins, chops, bacon, then everything else goes into the sausage. The place I use smokes the bacon for me so that's a plus. I also will buy 200-300 dollars worth of beef, usually bone in rib rib roast and a few loins. It all gets vaccum sealed and frozen. I use the frozen beef for occasions when I have time to properly thaw it. If it's just the wife and me, we get most of our meat from a grocery store called the fresh market.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I get most of my meat from Buckhead Beef out of Atlanta. I get it cheap by buying it at a bulk rate because I buy it from a chef/owner friend of mine who has a steakhouse. I pay what he pays so I am pretty lucky when buying by the case. I also buy from a local butcher if I don't need much of a certain cut of meat.

Oddly, Sam's Club has been selling Prime graded beef that is as good as any but you could get it cheaper asking a local restaurant that serves Prime beef if you could order through them because they typically wont try to make money off of you and you can buy it at the bulk rate.

I've had Buckhead beef, outstanding...but w/o your connection they were a lot more than my local butcher...$22 to $25 per lb for what I get...mostly prime ribeyes.

You are pretty lucky.

I did have a question...I don't eat enough steak to buy in bulk probably, but how do they taste after being frozen? I typically go from butcher home to add dryrub, fridge for 24-48 hrs and grill.

 

[fknhippie]

We buys ours at the local grocery store. It's fairly high end and it's much better than the local butcher shops.

But you pay, an aged rib-eye is about $27 per pound as is the tenderloin.

 

[Gooch1034]

I've had Buckhead beef, outstanding...but w/o your connection they were a lot more than my local butcher...$22 to $25 per lb for what I get...mostly prime ribeyes.

You are pretty lucky.

I did have a question...I don't eat enough steak to buy in bulk probably, but how do they taste after being frozen? I typically go from butcher home to add dryrub, fridge for 24-48 hrs and grill.

IMO it depends on what they are frozen in and for how long. Buckhead individually vac seals each steak and the length of time they are frozen depends on sales of their distributor Sysco and how much they have on hand in their warehouse freezers but it is rarely more than a couple weeks at worst. I don't notice the difference at all in taste if its only been frozen a short time but they do initially cook a little different if you have to be as picky as I do sometimes while vac sealed frozen steaks have more moisture on the surface(even after drying with a towel) since they are sealed up typically closer to cooking time than a fresh steak that has had more time to dry. The moisture can cause more steam cooking on the surface if your grill isn't hot enough but most ppl wouldn't notice. I wouldn't either if my old boss didn't show me how picky some celebs are that he has cooked for in the past.

 

[bamabear82]

One of our little local grocery stores has a pretty damn good meat dept. Pretty much everything we get comes from them.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

IMO it depends on what they are frozen in and for how long. Buckhead individually vac seals each steak and the length of time they are frozen depends on sales of their distributor Sysco and how much they have on hand in their warehouse freezers but it is rarely more than a couple weeks at worst. I don't notice the difference at all in taste if its only been frozen a short time but they do initially cook a little different if you have to be as picky as I do sometimes while vac sealed frozen steaks have more moisture on the surface(even after drying with a towel) since they are sealed up typically closer to cooking time than a fresh steak that has had more time to dry. The moisture can cause more steam cooking on the surface if your grill isn't hot enough but most ppl wouldn't notice. I wouldn't either if my old boss didn't show me how picky some celebs are that he has cooked for in the past.

I'm not a chef by any means, but have picked up a few skills along the way.

I figured there was some trick to it...the last time we bought some nice quality steaks from Costco...the wife froze them (wrapped, but not vac sealed) and they didn't turn out that great by my standards...I thawed them covered with a paper towel at room temp until they were near room temp. Since then I've been going to Patton's in Duluth.

 

[Gooch1034]

I'm not a chef by any means, but have picked up a few skills along the way.

I figured there was some trick to it...the last time we bought some nice quality steaks from Costco...the wife froze them (wrapped, but not vac sealed) and they didn't turn out that great by my standards...I thawed them covered with a paper towel at room temp until they were near room temp. Since then I've been going to Patton's in Duluth.

I tell you what, my wife and I were wanting a vacuum sealer but didn't want to spend the money on one so we went to Walmart and got the under-$20 Food Saver hand vac sealer with some quart and gallon bags. That little cheap thing works great for us. We don't have kids so the quart sized bags are perfect for 2 steaks so if I don't buy meat from Buckhead, I just use this cheap thing. We use it for a bunch of things in the fridge too like deli meat and cheeses. Long story short, the amount of food we have saved from freezer burn alone is well worth the cost of a good couple hundred dollar vac sealer so this cheap little thing has been well worth it.



If you ever get one of these, get the actual Food Saver brand bags. The Ziplock bags with the valve only hold their seal like 50% of the time.

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

I tell you what, my wife and I were wanting a vacuum sealer but didn't want to spend the money on one so we went to Walmart and got the under-$20 Food Saver hand vac sealer with some quart and gallon bags. That little cheap thing works great for us. We don't have kids so the quart sized bags are perfect for 2 steaks so if I don't buy meat from Buckhead, I just use this cheap thing. We use it for a bunch of things in the fridge too like deli meat and cheeses. Long story short, the amount of food we have saved from freezer burn alone is well worth the cost of a good couple hundred dollar vac sealer so this cheap little thing has been well worth it.

View attachment 119757

If you ever get one of these, get the actual Food Saver brand bags. The Ziplock bags with the valve only hold their seal like 50% of the time.

Have to agree, Vac sealers make a huge difference. Its also one step from cooking Sous-Vide style, which is fantastic, but that's a whole other story

 

[femurov]

Right here!



(looking for crotch chop emoji)

 

[Rockinkuwait]

Have a local grocery store/butcher shop that does well for me.

 

[Gooch1034]

Have to agree, Vac sealers make a huge difference. Its also one step from cooking Sous-Vide style, which is fantastic, but that's a whole other story

Speaking of sous-vide, there is a thread buried somewhere in this forum where I had a painful conversation with(I cant remember who) about Sous-Vide/reverse searing on a grill. I believe we both finally figured out that we were misunderstanding each others points. lol I still have yet to cook anything Sous Vide but I think I would have to finish a steak on a grill or a skillet once it hits 130 in the water?

I know some of the corporate turn and burn restaurants around here are starting to reheat soups and sauces ala Sous-Vide but that's as far as it goes. They still fuck it all up though because they don't really understand and use the hot water to hold a shifts worth of soup or, for example, cheese sauce(that they claim is Mornay but use American cheese ) but they set the water temp too high for WAY too long then cant understand why their cream soups/sauces breaks an hour into service.

You do much Sous-Vide cooking and if so, what do you think?